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Potentilla neumanniana |
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| | Evergreen - good for a little winter color, even if they're not as bright as in spring |
| Synonym(s) |
Potentilla verna |
| Common name |
spring cinquefoil |
| Family |
rosaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial |
| Flowers |
yellow (April-May) |
| Size |
3" |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
Small enough to be tucked between stones in a pathway, this is a charming little groundcover, with fresh green foliage most of the year and dainty little yellow flowers that appear for us in mid-April. We got our first at the HPS/MAG spring plant sale in 2003 as P. verna 'Nana'. Then, not realizing they were the same thing, I ordered three P. neumanniana from Bluestone while catalog-shopping in the winter of 2004. But they are sweet little plants, so I don't mind having several.
They make a good groundcover - but surprisingly, they don't take well to transplanting: they grow from strong central roots, and will often sulk or partially die back when divided. Once established, they're tough as nails.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Potentilla neumanniana
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Kendall Henry | Nov 15, 2005 | I don't find the Verna Nana Potentilla sweet at all. Very aggressive to the point that I was thinking they might be Creeping Buttercup. Do the Potentillas use overground runners to to produce roots at the nodes? Please let me know if I have the correct plant. Thank you.
For me this plant doesn't do much spreading - but perhaps given the right conditions it goes wild.
Added, quite a few years later: ours started spreading when it was planted in an area where its needs were well met (our rock garden and surrounding areas). I can see how it might be considered a nuisance, and I do pull up a good bit of it every spring – but I can't argue with the cheerful yellow flowers in spring, so I'm happy to deal with its wandering ways. |
| markus | Aug 10, 2010 | hello!
my name's markus and i'm from germany. wondering if the potentilla neumanniana stays over winter or will retreat, i asked the web. so i reached your page. maybe you can answer. i bought 3 plants and they cover an area of 12 by 12 inches after like 2 months. mine are planted topping a dry wall facing south. strange enough they are starting to blossom right now...
can i send you pics?
looking forward to hear (read) from you.....markus
If I recall correctly, this species is somewhat evergreen in our climate, and in any case will return with new growth in early spring. They are tough plants, should do OK in the location you describe (with a little water during very dry spells). They will expand their coverage year to year. |
| Joan | Jul 23, 2011 | I do believe the pictured plant is creeping buttercup as the foliage is totally different from the shrub which potentilla really is. Also, as a shrub, the potentilla is limited to one location without the "runners" connected to the example in the photo shown above. My yard has an overabundance of the example in the photo.
The genus Potentilla is home to many species, some of which are shrubs, other herbaceous perennials. This happens to be one of the herbs, and a creeping one at that. It is different from creeping buttercup, which belongs to a different botanical family. |
| planting potentilla nana creeping cinque | Apr 15, 2012 | can I grow potentilla nana creeping cinqefoil from seeds and, if so, where can i purchase them? I live in Virginia and intend to use it as a lawn substitute for a vacation home. ANy other feedback on the idea?
Ours does seed itself around (I think – I find unattached plants removed from the main clumps which spread by roots). I don't collect seed from mine, but I'd think you should be able to find some for sale or trade. As for using it as a lawn substitute – given just the right conditions, it might work. Certainly, where ours is happy it makes a patch dense enough to outcompete weeds. But I don't know how a whole lawn of it would work out. |
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